


nothing matters but you

by lucigucci



Series: so you're a simp for elliot stardew valley... [5]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29150292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucigucci/pseuds/lucigucci
Summary: the boat is fixed! you go out on the water with elliott for a completely platonic date with no romance whatsoeverhttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/3pOoiImyTFyp6KqTSCbeXm?si=u621EH11TGWvSgqhFPdSUg
Relationships: Elliott/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Elliott/Male Player (Stardew Valley), Elliott/Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: so you're a simp for elliot stardew valley... [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123496
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	nothing matters but you

“What’s this?” you ask.

Elliott climbs out of the boat, wobbly-kneed but beaming. “She’s nearly unrecognizable, no? I did it at last! It took a bit of elbow grease and-- er, and consultation from Willy, and one or two or five books from the museum-- b-but she’s perfectly stable, I give you my word!”

You stare at the docked vessel in disbelief. For one thing, from the state of it a few months ago, you never even imagined it could float again, and for another, Elliott is not the type to perform manual labor-- and yet, despite all odds, he’s standing over a sturdy boat with a hand outstretched to you, sun in his eyes and wind sweeping his hair. “You said that if you ever used this boat, you’d want to earn it,” you recall. “So you… really did all this yourself?”

“I, uhm, may not be as practiced as you in woodworking and craftsmanship, but I assure you, I did my very best...”

“I’m not disappointed, I’m impressed! This thing was falling apart, and now… wow! Look at it!” You take his hand and pull him into a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Elliott!”

He returns the hug after a second of hesitancy. The two of you fit together like puzzle pieces. “That’s why I asked you here,” he says into your hair. “Would you join me on her maiden voyage? After all, it was you who first offered to fix her up for me in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

“Then… all aboard!” He breaks away and takes a shaky step down, so he can help you into a comfortable seat before undoing the ropes at the stern and pushing off. For how small this rowboat is, you can’t help but admire how solid it is. Despite the waves pushing and pulling beneath you, you have no fear, even when Elliott almost drops one of the oars in his excitement. “Gah! S-sorry!”

“I can row if you want,” you offer. “No offense, but I use my arms a lot more than you.”

“No, no, you sit and relax. I have everything under control.”

You take him at his word and settle in. One of the plus sides of being squished into a rowboat is that you don’t have to reveal to Elliott how awful your sealegs are. As you rise and fall, rocked by the tide, you take the opportunity to look out over the water, sparkling and calm, twice as blue as the sky and almost as endless. The docks fade into the distance with each stroke of the oars. 

“Don’t be nervous, I’m sure you’ve done a perfect job,” you add.

He flinches in his seat. He’s been twitching and nerve-wracked the whole time and you can’t fathom why. “Oh-- th-that’s not it, I’m not--”

“I can take over rowing if you want. I really don’t mind.”

He looks back over his shoulder to check the line of the horizon. “We’re far enough out, I think… perhaps we should rest and see where the current takes us.”

“That sounds good to me.”

The oars clatter to the bottom of the boat. Elliott is still straightbacked and rigid, and he isn’t looking at you or even at the beautiful expanse of ocean around you. You place a tentative hand on his knee. “Elliott? Is everything alright?” you ask.

“Yes! Very m-much so!” He stops talking, but when you meet his eyes at last, he sighs and covers your hand with his own. “Well… I wanted to, er, talk to you about something. That is why I brought you here.”

“Ah, okay.”

You wait. Now that he’s been put on the spot, he fidgets worse than ever, steady only under your touch. “My book… has been selling a lot more than I thought it would, and I am so very happy… This is what I’ve always wanted, ever since I was a boy… and it’s all thanks to you! Without you, I-- I never would have-- well, that isn’t true, I would have finished it at one point anyway, but-- what I mean is, I owe quite a lot to you.”

“It’s no problem, really, but thanks for saying that. You did all the hard work, I just gave you some ideas.” When he doesn’t reply, you continue, “is that what you wanted to talk about? Your book?”

“No! Yes-- no. I thought that giving you some exposition might be nice before getting to the heart of the matter.”

“Expo-- what?”

Elliott takes a deep breath and holds your hand in both his own, more cradling you than gripping you. His fingers shake under yours. “I don’t want to be friends anymore,” he says.

Your heart plummets into your stomach. “What? But--”

“Ack, that came out wrong! I don’t mean that I don’t like you or I n-never want to see you again!”

“Elliott, that’s what being friends is all about,” you whimper. You start to retract your hand but his fingers fasten around yours.

“I don’t feel that way anymore! I want to see you _all_ the time, _every_ day, when I wake up and when I go to bed, and I don’t just _like_ you, I--” He cuts himself off with a frantic inhale. Your heart rate is spiking too. Empty pieces of the puzzle are falling into place before your eyes. “I… I believe I rely on words too much,” Elliott mumbles. “Because… in times like these, when I find myself at a loss for what to say, I am unsure of what to do with myself. How am I supposed to articulate something that refuses to be articulated?”

It’s hard to breathe. Your voice comes out high and strained. “Then you don’t say it, you just do it. You let your actions speak for you.”

He nods. His face is so close, you can count his eyelashes, lose yourself in the lush greenery of his eyes. “Don’t say it,” he repeats softly, “just do it.”

Elliott closes the gap and kisses you. Everything else falls away. His hair tickles your cheek in the ocean breeze, his hands journey to your waist and then the back of your neck, he is so soft and so gentle and--

He pulls away without warning. Panic lights up his eyes sharper than the sun on the cresting waves. “You’re trembling,” he whispers. “Did I make a mistake? Oh god, oh god...”

Now that the shock has faded, you gather the nerve to run your hands up the side of his torso, shaking your head.

“Are you… happy?”

A breathless grin spreads across your face. “I can’t remember the last time I was this happy,” you admit.

“Really?” he squeaks.

“Elliott, why do you think I came to your house every day even though it’s about a mile from my farm, rain or shine? Why do you think I brought you gifts twice a week? Why do you think I asked you to come live with me?”

Realization dawns on his face until he’s wearing a matching smile. “I must be the biggest fool in the world,” he laughs.

You lunge forward and capture him in another kiss. This one is deeper, more thoughtful, and you pull him tight to your body as though he might blow away in the wind. Joy is jostling you even more than the current. You run your hands through his hair (finally!) and find that it’s just as silky, if not more so, than you fantasized. “Will you be my boyfriend?” you ask into his mouth.

“With all my heart, darling, with all my heart...!”

Twin smiles meet each other, wet and warm. The waves clap their congratulations against the sides of the rowboat. 

And, for the first time, Stardew Valley feels like home.


End file.
